Optical fibers have a variety of uses, one of which is for carrying voice and/or data in a telecommunications system. Optical fibers are run from a central telephone office to numerous locations or sites. At each location or site, such as at a business or a domestic residence, a number of fibers are run to specific telephone jacks. The input fibers from the central telephone office and the fibers outputting to the jacks are connected at an interconnection box.
Conventional interconnection boxes consist of two sections, a network section and a customer section. Only network technicians are intended to access the network section. The network section, in addition to receiving input fibers, provides slack storage and terminations for the input fibers. It is further intended that the end user (the customer) be allowed access to the customer section, which includes the output fibers.
The customer is not intended to access the network section. Conventional interconnection boxes further include two separate covers with two sets of security locks. One cover and security lock govern access to the network section, while the other cover and security lock govern access to the customer section.
Other conventional boxes provide no mechanism for inhibiting access by the customer to the network section. The device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,130 (Walters et al.) is a connector housing which includes an optical connector housing having a connector panel. The panel allows for the interconnection of incoming optical fibers with outgoing fibers. The connector panel is covered by a hinged door. A rear cable area houses the outgoing fibers. The network section of the Walters et al. device is easily accessible by anyone through the door.
Still other conventional devices include complicated designs involving numerous pieces for separating the network side from the customer side of a fiber interconnection box. U.S. Pat. No. 5,434,944 (Kerry et al.) describes a modular unit with a base, a fiber organizer unit, and a top unit. Incoming fiber cables enter the base through inlet slots and are coiled within the base before entering through the bottom of the fiber organizer unit. There the fiber cable is clamped at an end and four fibers from within the fiber cable are looped and stored in a lower portion of the fiber organizer unit. Each end of the fibers is fitted to a tube, which is fed into the top unit. The tubes connect with the customer's fibers through one or more units. The top unit includes a panel in which the units are mounted. The top unit further has a sliding cover and a transparent lid.
There is a need for a fiber interconnection box with fewer parts and which inhibits access by the customer from the portion of the box housing the fibers incoming from the network.